Chapter 1
Prologue: Tokio's early story
March 5 of 1853: Tokio is seven.
I was scrubbing my brother's scalp in the bath house. Seinosuke had gotten himself into a little tussle with one of the boys at his kendo school, returning home triumphant but filthy with mud caked all over him. I scolded him after my mother had and dutifully taken to the bath house. He was only a child, five years old, and an eccentric little brother.
"How many times did I tell you to stay away from that boy?" I repeated myself a hundred times as I viciously worked the soap into his hair.
"Ow, ow! You told me about a million times! Go easy, please? I don't want to come out bald."
I snorted. "Come on, let's rinse off and help Mama with dinner. Father should be returning soon."
He rinsed off the soap from his hair and body and put on his yukata. "Besides, Ijime started it."
"Don't make excuses, Takagi Seinosuke, you know better than that. Just try to work it out without such violence, ne? For me?"
Seinosuke nodded, casting his little eyes down to the floor. I sensed his prideful victory diminishing. I held his hand tightly and he looked up. I smiled at him and searched a piece of sweet ginger from my kimono and popped it in his mouth. Delighted at the rare treat, he skipped his way happily back to the house. I ran after him and kicked off my sandals and placed them carefully besides my mother's.
I looked up to see my father arriving in his usual walk from the meeting house. "Aijou, is your mother inside?"
"Yes, daifu-san, she's preparing dinner." I said, waiting for him to take off his shoes. Taking them and putting them beside mine, I stood up to join my father. He closed his arms around me in a warm embrace.
"I am grateful to the gods that they have gifted me with a lovely daughter to look after her mother for me. Now, let's go inside to enjoy that dinner, shall we, aijou?"
I beamed at his compliment and took his battle-scared hand to lead him where Seinosuke was setting the low cherry wood tables. Sake was set for my father and water for the rest of us. Today, my mama prepared fish, vegetable soup seasoned with salt and a mix of delicious herbs, and traditional rice. We did not eat until my father had taken the first bite. I quickly nudged Seinosuke to stop slouching. He immediately straightened his posture and resumed his eating. My mother smiled at us.
Daifu-san looked sternly at my brother. "I was told that you got into another fight with Ijime, Seinosuke."
My little brother looked up startled at the mention of his fight, but then flushed in hot embarrassment. He looked down at his bowl full of food and murmured, "Yes, sir."
"I heard from his father. I know Ijime started the fight. He is taken with the idea that he is the best student in his class. You must not challenge him in anyway nor provoke him and give him an excuse to demand a fight with you. I was disappointed in you for giving into such a ridiculous request."
Seinosuke did not speak and judging by his silence, he was obviously ashamed of what he had done. I spoke for him. "Daifu-san, he understands-"
"Tokio, let the boy speak for himself." He commanded me. I fell silent and ate the rest of my food. It was my mother's turn to look sternly at me. The fancy style that she put her hair up at the back of her head made her look even more frightening.
After a long talk with my father, my brother apologized to him on his knees and my father hugged him close. "I am glad you won, my son. You did well. But don't let it happen again."
"Yes, daifu-san. I'll never do it again!" He sobbed. It was very touching to see. I knew my brother would obey to the furthest extent possible. I smiled and my mother did the same. I got up to help her with the dishes as my father began Seinosuke's lessons. I watched and listened as usual, while stitching up my brother's hakama. They were talking about the samurai history; when they thrived in Ancient Japan. The high class of samurai was rich, prospering from the country's wealth. The lower class got few respect as they were thought of as unimportant and less skilled. I found myself falling into my father's voice, the rich melody that met my ears until I pricked my finger on the needle. I winced and immediately put my finger in my mouth, a small coppery taste of my blood on my tongue. Paying no attention to the little wound, I turned my ears to a crash in the cooking area. A shriek sounded throughout the dark night, my father rushing to his katana and shouting at us to stay in the room and turn out the lights. I blew out the lantern quickly and gathered my brother in my arms, huddled in a corner farthest away from the windows and door.
I heard a clash as three katanas met simultaneously. I could see the moonlight washed shadows against the shoji. I felt Seinosuke shiver slightly in my arms and he looked up at me with terrified eyes. I held him closer and he groped my arm tightly. Still the battle raged, I heard my father's shouts of effort to force the enemies away. He killed one. His final scream echoed in my nightmares. The clash when steel made contact with steel rang out, alerting the neighborhood of the misshapen in the Takagi residence. Other yells of alarm surrounded us and I heard multiple footsteps to our house. I heard a man yell out, "fall back!" and silence issued in the yard.
The shoji crashed open and my father rushed to us, enveloping us with bloodstained arms. I shakily exhaled my breath, without my knowledge of holding it. "Your mama is safe. Do not worry, she will have to leave us for a month or so." He whispered gently to us. I nodded into his chest, still holding onto my brother.
My father stood up with us, still holding us to his side and I looked up to see him in the dim night. Seinosuke clutched his gi tightly, not letting go until a stranger came to speak with my father of the attack. I made sure Seinosuke was alright and shooed him to our room. He and I both laid out our futons and pillows then went to wash. I kept an ear out for any conversation, biding my time back to my room. Unfortunately, I could not hear anything but I made a promise to myself that I would ask my father about this in the morning. I just hoped I could talk to him before he went to work. I suspected that he would leave earlier than he usually did because of this incident. My brother fell asleep, probably exhausted by the terror of tonight's events and he lightly snored while snuggling deep in the blanket. I lay unable to sleep on my futon as the sounds and images replayed in my mind over and over again.
The door to my room slid open and I saw my mother standing there. She was holding her hands together in front of her as usual and she had a sad look about her. I got up from the bed and ran to her and hugged her. She smiled down at me and knelt to face me. Kissing my forehead softly, my beautiful mother instructed me to look after the family and that she would be home as soon as possible. Nothing could keep her away from her, she told me and I believed her. Her perfume lingered with me as I watched her leave. Taking a bag full of provisions and things that she would need, Mama left with a smile for me and a kiss for my father. He told me to go back to sleep but I stayed with him until I finally did rest my eyes.
::~:: March 6 of 1853
::Break of Dawn::
I awoke in my room where I supposed my papa had carried me to. I looked to my right and saw my brother still soundly sleeping. I got up and folded the blankets and futon to put back in the closet. I heard something on porch and rushed out to meet it, hoping with my heart that Daifu-san had not left. He hadn't. He was sitting on the side of the shoji, resting comfortably with his katana at his side.
"Daifu-san, may I ask you something?" I asked. He turned to smile at me and nodded. "Why did those people attack Mama? What did they want with her?"
I waited for his response which came a full minute after the inquiry had been stated. He sighed slowly and closed his blue eyes to open them again. "Look at the sky, aijou. Today it is as blue as your mother's special kimono and yet yesterday was as gray as my hair. Those people that came to kill your mother are like the gray skies, obscuring the clear blue behind it. They wanted something from our family because of my position in the Aizu clan. That something was your mother's life. I will never let them take away my family, for they are my blue skies and your mother is my sun.
"Many people think I am persuading the government to make bad choices that affects them and they want me to stop. I only want what is best for the Aizu. Remarkably, you are very mature for a seven year old girl and I know you can understand politics better than some men. I am proud of that, but sometimes, knowing too much too early can scar you. I do not mean to keep secrets from you, but many times, it is best for you and your brother not to know. Can you understand what I am saying?"
"Yes, sir," I said, nodding my head. My father was an alert man, looking out for his family and his clan. I was honored to be a part of the Aizu clan, especially when my papa was serving it the best he could. I didn't understand then why people did not like my father, but I was sure it was for a petty reason.
He left after eating breakfast that I prepared and got about cleaning the house to keep myself busy until my brother woke up. I served him breakfast and joined him soon after. He must have been immensely hungry for he was ate two bowls of rice. As he was finishing the second helping, he asked if it was alright for him to practice his kata. I smiled and told him that I was proud of his determination and he could practice...as soon as he helped me clean the porch. Seinosuke laughed and agreed.
::~:: June 14 of 1855
::Tokio's younger sister is born::
::Tokio is eight, soon to turn nine::
After my mother came back from hiding almost two years ago, she was now nursing my one-month-old baby sister, Tami. I assisted her in everything that she needed to do and sternly told her to stay in bed. Today, she was not feeling well and after nursing the baby, she was resting fitfully. I detected a slight fever and occasionally changed the towel on her forehead. I was worried about her and same with my father and brother. They both came into the room to see if I need help or to sit beside her. Tami cried loudly to be fed and gurgled when sleepy. Already, I memorized her emotions. I had to. As her older sister, I was Mama's helper and it was simply my duty to take care of my siblings.
Mama's breathing was unusually shallow and hard, coming in quick gasps. Her brows furrowed with what seemed to me agony. I rushed to her side, calling for my father and brother. I held her hand, swiftly replacing the cloth for her head and removing the blankets that enveloped her body. The sound of storming footsteps headed my way when the door was thrown open and Daifu-san hurtled himself to his wife's side. She was feeling very sickly as far as I could tell and I told Seinosuke to fetch the doctor.
"Sweet sorrow consumes my soul and dull grief fills my heart." I had read it in one of my father's books when I was studying from them. It was a poem of some kind that I failed to remember the name to. Yes, I felt sorrow and grief as I tried to care for my mother. I hardly noticed my father sitting beside her, helpless in what to do. I guided him to stay out of the room until I had some need for him in the future. I hoped the doctor would arrive soon for Mama's temperature was rising rapidly.
"Ne-chan, the doctor is here!" Seinosuke called, out of breath from his errand. The doctor came in, dropping his bag and looking at his patient. He felt for her pulse, breathing, and temperature. He shook his head at all of them. Getting to work, he looked at me.
"Can you get me a small bag full of crab weed and rosemary? It will help to calm her down and numb her best I can."
I quickly nodded, running as fast as I could in my kimono and arriving at the medicine house. It was a small shack owned by an elderly man with no past or name. I ran in and asked him for the two herbs. Giving me a bagful of each one, he told me that they were a present for me in my time of need. I thanked him and mentally wrote myself a note to come back and pay the man double what I owed him.
Hours and hours went by, the doctor trying desperately to fix whatever was wrong. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he concentrated. I could only sit and watch while the rest of the family awaited the news. It was getting late, very late, that I started to doze off still kneeling beside my mother, until the doctor was startled.
"Quick, give me a towel! A cloth of any sort! She's beginning to bleed out rapidly!" I scrambled back into life, trying hard to ignore Tami's cries. Grabbing what I could, I was at the doctor's side and holding cloth after cloth as I watched my mother die slowly. Breathing came hard for her, labored and harsh, and her body started to shake violently.
Minute by minute, the shaking began to stop as did her breathing. Her heart rate dropped below to what the doctor could do to revive it. The bleeding would not stop. Time would not stop. It would not stop to prolong my mother's life. Nothing stopped. My tears did not stop nor did Tami's crying. The silence was silence and my mother was dead.
Father came through to see his beloved wife still and paler than a ghost. My brother saw his mother's blood on the blankets. He turned away from the scene and wept. Trying to stop his tears and roughly wiping them away, he turned back to face the death in the eye. He did not succeed. Sorrow hung heavily in the air, so thick that I could almost touch it. Seinosuke knelt beside me, head hanging low that his dark bangs covered his eyes. My blood covered hands did not move from their places on the towels. I hardly noticed the doctor get up and murmur his apologies and leave.
"Sweet sorrow consumes my soul and dull grief fills my heart." So this is how it felt; a vacant feeling inside of me that I would never fill? Except, the grief wasn't dull, it was...agonizing. It was so hard to watch my father cover her face with a sheet and it was equally as harsh listening to Tami. She was the last present that Mama left in this world. She would be something that I would cherish for the rest of my life. I cradled the small baby in closely my arms, closing my eyes as some of the pain eased away.
"Aijou, can I hold her? Just for a little bit?" My father asked timidly. I smiled and handed Tami to him, watching him glow in adoration of his little daughter.
"We will properly bury your mother tomorrow."
::~::
And we did just that, dressing her in her finest kimono and we took her to a burial mound overlooking a beautiful bay. It was peaceful there, just how Mama would have liked it to be. It was a sunny day, not a single cloud up in the azure sky. She used to call these days "grateful days," for it was not often that we got such good weather. She would have been happy; I could almost see her in the meadows, singing and holding me in her arms, reminiscing about the past days. These days were grateful days, and I was grateful today for Kami-sama letting me realize that I hadn't lost my mother after all; her wisdom was with me always.
The day when my mother had to go into hiding, she had told me to take care of the family while I was gone. My father slipped slowly into depression, and refused to eat or more like could not eat. His face was unshaven and craggily, looking older beyond his actual age. I nursed him back into reality and health by reading the newspapers to him and reading books from his collection. At the same time, I had Tami with me always, hoping that he would remember my mother this way. I had to feed him myself, instructing him to open his mouth and to chew. All the while, he did not seem to recognize me. His blank eyes stared deeply into mine, without the knowledge that I was his oldest child.
Seinosuke kept up his school work and kata as I wanted him to. I felt that it was the best decision that he continued his education. Not a word of complaint escaped his lips even when I thought I was pushing him too hard, to succeed and achieve his dreams. 'Dream big, Seino, and you'll be far better off than me,' I told him everyday. He would smile a smile that lit up my world, giving me hope and strength to face any challenges that lied ahead of me.
But, that hope started to wane as my father continued to grow heavily confused in whom and where he was. He still did not recognize me in any way but grew very fond of Tami. She was playful and giggled a lot, getting attracted to her father that did not even know that she was his daughter.
::Author's Notes:: Ok, it wasn't the greatest so far, but remember that this is only the prologue. Not to ruin any surprises, I will not tell you which chapter she meets the infamous Saitou Hajime. It will be soon, so bear with me and I hope to update by 2/18.
::Historical Notes:: The dates in this story should be correct according to my sources. Little is known about Tokio's life, so I'm making up challenges and troubles for her to go through. Like everyone else on this earth, I'm sure she went through dark times herself.
::Character Notes:: Seinosuke- His name could be spelled different ways and this is how I chose to spell it, but he really is Tokio's younger brother.
Tami- She is the last of Tokio's siblings. Unfortunately, their mother did die of complications after giving birth.
March 5 of 1853: Tokio is seven.
I was scrubbing my brother's scalp in the bath house. Seinosuke had gotten himself into a little tussle with one of the boys at his kendo school, returning home triumphant but filthy with mud caked all over him. I scolded him after my mother had and dutifully taken to the bath house. He was only a child, five years old, and an eccentric little brother.
"How many times did I tell you to stay away from that boy?" I repeated myself a hundred times as I viciously worked the soap into his hair.
"Ow, ow! You told me about a million times! Go easy, please? I don't want to come out bald."
I snorted. "Come on, let's rinse off and help Mama with dinner. Father should be returning soon."
He rinsed off the soap from his hair and body and put on his yukata. "Besides, Ijime started it."
"Don't make excuses, Takagi Seinosuke, you know better than that. Just try to work it out without such violence, ne? For me?"
Seinosuke nodded, casting his little eyes down to the floor. I sensed his prideful victory diminishing. I held his hand tightly and he looked up. I smiled at him and searched a piece of sweet ginger from my kimono and popped it in his mouth. Delighted at the rare treat, he skipped his way happily back to the house. I ran after him and kicked off my sandals and placed them carefully besides my mother's.
I looked up to see my father arriving in his usual walk from the meeting house. "Aijou, is your mother inside?"
"Yes, daifu-san, she's preparing dinner." I said, waiting for him to take off his shoes. Taking them and putting them beside mine, I stood up to join my father. He closed his arms around me in a warm embrace.
"I am grateful to the gods that they have gifted me with a lovely daughter to look after her mother for me. Now, let's go inside to enjoy that dinner, shall we, aijou?"
I beamed at his compliment and took his battle-scared hand to lead him where Seinosuke was setting the low cherry wood tables. Sake was set for my father and water for the rest of us. Today, my mama prepared fish, vegetable soup seasoned with salt and a mix of delicious herbs, and traditional rice. We did not eat until my father had taken the first bite. I quickly nudged Seinosuke to stop slouching. He immediately straightened his posture and resumed his eating. My mother smiled at us.
Daifu-san looked sternly at my brother. "I was told that you got into another fight with Ijime, Seinosuke."
My little brother looked up startled at the mention of his fight, but then flushed in hot embarrassment. He looked down at his bowl full of food and murmured, "Yes, sir."
"I heard from his father. I know Ijime started the fight. He is taken with the idea that he is the best student in his class. You must not challenge him in anyway nor provoke him and give him an excuse to demand a fight with you. I was disappointed in you for giving into such a ridiculous request."
Seinosuke did not speak and judging by his silence, he was obviously ashamed of what he had done. I spoke for him. "Daifu-san, he understands-"
"Tokio, let the boy speak for himself." He commanded me. I fell silent and ate the rest of my food. It was my mother's turn to look sternly at me. The fancy style that she put her hair up at the back of her head made her look even more frightening.
After a long talk with my father, my brother apologized to him on his knees and my father hugged him close. "I am glad you won, my son. You did well. But don't let it happen again."
"Yes, daifu-san. I'll never do it again!" He sobbed. It was very touching to see. I knew my brother would obey to the furthest extent possible. I smiled and my mother did the same. I got up to help her with the dishes as my father began Seinosuke's lessons. I watched and listened as usual, while stitching up my brother's hakama. They were talking about the samurai history; when they thrived in Ancient Japan. The high class of samurai was rich, prospering from the country's wealth. The lower class got few respect as they were thought of as unimportant and less skilled. I found myself falling into my father's voice, the rich melody that met my ears until I pricked my finger on the needle. I winced and immediately put my finger in my mouth, a small coppery taste of my blood on my tongue. Paying no attention to the little wound, I turned my ears to a crash in the cooking area. A shriek sounded throughout the dark night, my father rushing to his katana and shouting at us to stay in the room and turn out the lights. I blew out the lantern quickly and gathered my brother in my arms, huddled in a corner farthest away from the windows and door.
I heard a clash as three katanas met simultaneously. I could see the moonlight washed shadows against the shoji. I felt Seinosuke shiver slightly in my arms and he looked up at me with terrified eyes. I held him closer and he groped my arm tightly. Still the battle raged, I heard my father's shouts of effort to force the enemies away. He killed one. His final scream echoed in my nightmares. The clash when steel made contact with steel rang out, alerting the neighborhood of the misshapen in the Takagi residence. Other yells of alarm surrounded us and I heard multiple footsteps to our house. I heard a man yell out, "fall back!" and silence issued in the yard.
The shoji crashed open and my father rushed to us, enveloping us with bloodstained arms. I shakily exhaled my breath, without my knowledge of holding it. "Your mama is safe. Do not worry, she will have to leave us for a month or so." He whispered gently to us. I nodded into his chest, still holding onto my brother.
My father stood up with us, still holding us to his side and I looked up to see him in the dim night. Seinosuke clutched his gi tightly, not letting go until a stranger came to speak with my father of the attack. I made sure Seinosuke was alright and shooed him to our room. He and I both laid out our futons and pillows then went to wash. I kept an ear out for any conversation, biding my time back to my room. Unfortunately, I could not hear anything but I made a promise to myself that I would ask my father about this in the morning. I just hoped I could talk to him before he went to work. I suspected that he would leave earlier than he usually did because of this incident. My brother fell asleep, probably exhausted by the terror of tonight's events and he lightly snored while snuggling deep in the blanket. I lay unable to sleep on my futon as the sounds and images replayed in my mind over and over again.
The door to my room slid open and I saw my mother standing there. She was holding her hands together in front of her as usual and she had a sad look about her. I got up from the bed and ran to her and hugged her. She smiled down at me and knelt to face me. Kissing my forehead softly, my beautiful mother instructed me to look after the family and that she would be home as soon as possible. Nothing could keep her away from her, she told me and I believed her. Her perfume lingered with me as I watched her leave. Taking a bag full of provisions and things that she would need, Mama left with a smile for me and a kiss for my father. He told me to go back to sleep but I stayed with him until I finally did rest my eyes.
::~:: March 6 of 1853
::Break of Dawn::
I awoke in my room where I supposed my papa had carried me to. I looked to my right and saw my brother still soundly sleeping. I got up and folded the blankets and futon to put back in the closet. I heard something on porch and rushed out to meet it, hoping with my heart that Daifu-san had not left. He hadn't. He was sitting on the side of the shoji, resting comfortably with his katana at his side.
"Daifu-san, may I ask you something?" I asked. He turned to smile at me and nodded. "Why did those people attack Mama? What did they want with her?"
I waited for his response which came a full minute after the inquiry had been stated. He sighed slowly and closed his blue eyes to open them again. "Look at the sky, aijou. Today it is as blue as your mother's special kimono and yet yesterday was as gray as my hair. Those people that came to kill your mother are like the gray skies, obscuring the clear blue behind it. They wanted something from our family because of my position in the Aizu clan. That something was your mother's life. I will never let them take away my family, for they are my blue skies and your mother is my sun.
"Many people think I am persuading the government to make bad choices that affects them and they want me to stop. I only want what is best for the Aizu. Remarkably, you are very mature for a seven year old girl and I know you can understand politics better than some men. I am proud of that, but sometimes, knowing too much too early can scar you. I do not mean to keep secrets from you, but many times, it is best for you and your brother not to know. Can you understand what I am saying?"
"Yes, sir," I said, nodding my head. My father was an alert man, looking out for his family and his clan. I was honored to be a part of the Aizu clan, especially when my papa was serving it the best he could. I didn't understand then why people did not like my father, but I was sure it was for a petty reason.
He left after eating breakfast that I prepared and got about cleaning the house to keep myself busy until my brother woke up. I served him breakfast and joined him soon after. He must have been immensely hungry for he was ate two bowls of rice. As he was finishing the second helping, he asked if it was alright for him to practice his kata. I smiled and told him that I was proud of his determination and he could practice...as soon as he helped me clean the porch. Seinosuke laughed and agreed.
::~:: June 14 of 1855
::Tokio's younger sister is born::
::Tokio is eight, soon to turn nine::
After my mother came back from hiding almost two years ago, she was now nursing my one-month-old baby sister, Tami. I assisted her in everything that she needed to do and sternly told her to stay in bed. Today, she was not feeling well and after nursing the baby, she was resting fitfully. I detected a slight fever and occasionally changed the towel on her forehead. I was worried about her and same with my father and brother. They both came into the room to see if I need help or to sit beside her. Tami cried loudly to be fed and gurgled when sleepy. Already, I memorized her emotions. I had to. As her older sister, I was Mama's helper and it was simply my duty to take care of my siblings.
Mama's breathing was unusually shallow and hard, coming in quick gasps. Her brows furrowed with what seemed to me agony. I rushed to her side, calling for my father and brother. I held her hand, swiftly replacing the cloth for her head and removing the blankets that enveloped her body. The sound of storming footsteps headed my way when the door was thrown open and Daifu-san hurtled himself to his wife's side. She was feeling very sickly as far as I could tell and I told Seinosuke to fetch the doctor.
"Sweet sorrow consumes my soul and dull grief fills my heart." I had read it in one of my father's books when I was studying from them. It was a poem of some kind that I failed to remember the name to. Yes, I felt sorrow and grief as I tried to care for my mother. I hardly noticed my father sitting beside her, helpless in what to do. I guided him to stay out of the room until I had some need for him in the future. I hoped the doctor would arrive soon for Mama's temperature was rising rapidly.
"Ne-chan, the doctor is here!" Seinosuke called, out of breath from his errand. The doctor came in, dropping his bag and looking at his patient. He felt for her pulse, breathing, and temperature. He shook his head at all of them. Getting to work, he looked at me.
"Can you get me a small bag full of crab weed and rosemary? It will help to calm her down and numb her best I can."
I quickly nodded, running as fast as I could in my kimono and arriving at the medicine house. It was a small shack owned by an elderly man with no past or name. I ran in and asked him for the two herbs. Giving me a bagful of each one, he told me that they were a present for me in my time of need. I thanked him and mentally wrote myself a note to come back and pay the man double what I owed him.
Hours and hours went by, the doctor trying desperately to fix whatever was wrong. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he concentrated. I could only sit and watch while the rest of the family awaited the news. It was getting late, very late, that I started to doze off still kneeling beside my mother, until the doctor was startled.
"Quick, give me a towel! A cloth of any sort! She's beginning to bleed out rapidly!" I scrambled back into life, trying hard to ignore Tami's cries. Grabbing what I could, I was at the doctor's side and holding cloth after cloth as I watched my mother die slowly. Breathing came hard for her, labored and harsh, and her body started to shake violently.
Minute by minute, the shaking began to stop as did her breathing. Her heart rate dropped below to what the doctor could do to revive it. The bleeding would not stop. Time would not stop. It would not stop to prolong my mother's life. Nothing stopped. My tears did not stop nor did Tami's crying. The silence was silence and my mother was dead.
Father came through to see his beloved wife still and paler than a ghost. My brother saw his mother's blood on the blankets. He turned away from the scene and wept. Trying to stop his tears and roughly wiping them away, he turned back to face the death in the eye. He did not succeed. Sorrow hung heavily in the air, so thick that I could almost touch it. Seinosuke knelt beside me, head hanging low that his dark bangs covered his eyes. My blood covered hands did not move from their places on the towels. I hardly noticed the doctor get up and murmur his apologies and leave.
"Sweet sorrow consumes my soul and dull grief fills my heart." So this is how it felt; a vacant feeling inside of me that I would never fill? Except, the grief wasn't dull, it was...agonizing. It was so hard to watch my father cover her face with a sheet and it was equally as harsh listening to Tami. She was the last present that Mama left in this world. She would be something that I would cherish for the rest of my life. I cradled the small baby in closely my arms, closing my eyes as some of the pain eased away.
"Aijou, can I hold her? Just for a little bit?" My father asked timidly. I smiled and handed Tami to him, watching him glow in adoration of his little daughter.
"We will properly bury your mother tomorrow."
::~::
And we did just that, dressing her in her finest kimono and we took her to a burial mound overlooking a beautiful bay. It was peaceful there, just how Mama would have liked it to be. It was a sunny day, not a single cloud up in the azure sky. She used to call these days "grateful days," for it was not often that we got such good weather. She would have been happy; I could almost see her in the meadows, singing and holding me in her arms, reminiscing about the past days. These days were grateful days, and I was grateful today for Kami-sama letting me realize that I hadn't lost my mother after all; her wisdom was with me always.
The day when my mother had to go into hiding, she had told me to take care of the family while I was gone. My father slipped slowly into depression, and refused to eat or more like could not eat. His face was unshaven and craggily, looking older beyond his actual age. I nursed him back into reality and health by reading the newspapers to him and reading books from his collection. At the same time, I had Tami with me always, hoping that he would remember my mother this way. I had to feed him myself, instructing him to open his mouth and to chew. All the while, he did not seem to recognize me. His blank eyes stared deeply into mine, without the knowledge that I was his oldest child.
Seinosuke kept up his school work and kata as I wanted him to. I felt that it was the best decision that he continued his education. Not a word of complaint escaped his lips even when I thought I was pushing him too hard, to succeed and achieve his dreams. 'Dream big, Seino, and you'll be far better off than me,' I told him everyday. He would smile a smile that lit up my world, giving me hope and strength to face any challenges that lied ahead of me.
But, that hope started to wane as my father continued to grow heavily confused in whom and where he was. He still did not recognize me in any way but grew very fond of Tami. She was playful and giggled a lot, getting attracted to her father that did not even know that she was his daughter.
::Author's Notes:: Ok, it wasn't the greatest so far, but remember that this is only the prologue. Not to ruin any surprises, I will not tell you which chapter she meets the infamous Saitou Hajime. It will be soon, so bear with me and I hope to update by 2/18.
::Historical Notes:: The dates in this story should be correct according to my sources. Little is known about Tokio's life, so I'm making up challenges and troubles for her to go through. Like everyone else on this earth, I'm sure she went through dark times herself.
::Character Notes:: Seinosuke- His name could be spelled different ways and this is how I chose to spell it, but he really is Tokio's younger brother.
Tami- She is the last of Tokio's siblings. Unfortunately, their mother did die of complications after giving birth.